Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Marching Through March--By James Rasmusson--United States

Marching Through March

NOT do I remember
the lyrical poems and Renoir paintings
that sang of the beauty of March.

Cold wet and muddy
to the cadence of a funeral dirge
I march along the road to April.

Passing a slimy pond
Pisces the fish greets me with a flick of his tail,
the murky water dripping from my soggy coat.

The sound of crashing horns!
My head jerks around to see
Aries the ram butting heads with a rival.

Is March the bleakest month of the year?

But how can this be when March is the month
when Johann Sebastian Bach was born
and the whole world is green on Saint Patty’s Day?

Now, NOW I feel
a gentle breeze with the floating fragrance of lilac shrub.
Just around the corner is SPRING!

James began writing in the 1960’s and immediately showed a love for seasonal, humorous, and philosophical poetry. In the late 70’s, he became an ardent photographer and soon found that the two artistic mediums cross pollinated each other. West Michigan is an art Mecca with over 100 galleries and art camps with Jim residing in the lovely coastal town of Holland, Michigan. A practitioner of Surat Shabd Yoga since 1972, his art is an expression of his lifetime love affair with nature and his quest for truth. James is the winner of many awards in both photography and poetry including the 2005 Shadow Poetry 5th biannual chapbook competition. The artist says he likes to underscore the abstract and tease the mind and be ever alert for juxtapositions that express irony, absurdity, and poignancy, desiring for people to feel both tension and resolution in his compositions.

8 comments:

  1. Thank you for celebrating the month of March, SPRING! Nature births in March, even Bach came with the leaves and blooms.

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  2. James, this is very cleverly done, I found myself laughing out loud at your creative expressions and rhythmical procession through the verse. It is indeed an abstract in
    the greatest form, but it is also exceptionally creative and pure joy to read! Sheri

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  3. Great poem, and full of imaginative images. But I wondered if that first word should have been NOR...
    Maureen

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  4. I loved your creative, full of imagery poem James. I always enjoy your talent. Thank you for sharing such a well written tribute to March that peeks it's head just around the corner to welcome Spring. A lovely write and I enjoyed it a lot.
    Charlene.

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  5. funny, we marched on in upstate new york, for sure!

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  6. James,
    It's funny, we had more rain the lat few days of March than the entire month of April! So much for April showers (then again, the month has just started...)!
    Your new friend,
    David Fox

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  7. Playful and knowing....the poet obviously is in tune with his environment...Thanks for the entertaining read....Victoria

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  8. Dear James, You already know that this poem is a favorite of mine. It draws the reader into the landscape, feeling the hope of spring. Beautiful! Aloha, Connie

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